Pressure flow discharge mechanism

ABSTRACT

An improved method of and means for effecting the discharge of commodities from hopper-type railroad tank cars. The hopper includes a discharge port, for removing the material, having a gas inlet positioned adjacent thereto. Rubber hoses are suspended over each hopper symmetrically about the transverse centerline and on the longitudinal centerline. The top ends of these hoses are fixed to air supply pipes and a structural support also holds the top rigid while the bottom ends of the hoses are free to whip. Air is passed through the rubber hose to effect a mechanical whipping action which knocks compacted material down into the hopper bottom.

United States Patent [191 Deeks Dec. 11, 1973 PRESSURE FLOW DISCHARGE MECHANISM Ronald G. Decks, 1521 Warland Rd., Oakville, Ontario, Canada Filed: Jan. 12, 1972 Appl. No.: 217,337

Related US. Application Data Continuation of Ser. No. 21,573, March 23, 1970, abandoned.

Inventor:

2,501,047 3/1950 Gustafsson 222/193 Primary Examiner-Richard E. Aegerter Att0rney.loel E. Siegel [57] ABSTRACT An improved method of and means for effecting the discharge of commodities from hopper-type railroad tank cars. The hopper includes a discharge port, for removing the material, having a gas inlet positioned adjacent thereto. Rubber hoses are suspended over each hopper symmetrically about the transverse centerline and on the longitudinal centerline. The top ends of these hoses are fixed to air supply pipes and a structural support also holds the top rigid while the bottom ends of the hoses are free to whip. Air is passed through the rubber hose to effect a mechanical whipping action which knocks compacted material down into the hopper bottom.

1 Claim, 1 Drawing Figure PAIENTEDUEBI 1 m5 3.177. 912

M). ////W//4a PRESSURE FLOW DISCHARGE MECHANISM This application is a continuing application of Applicants copending application Ser. No. 21,573, filed Mar. 23, 1970, now abandoned and assigned to the as signee of the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to apparatus for effecting the pressurized discharge and cleanout of materials from containers and, more particularly, to improved apparatus for effecting the discharge and cleanout of dry bulk commodities which have compacted in the container due to vibration and static head.

Although the invention'will be described in the environmental context of hoppertype railroad tank cars, it will be understood that the improved apparatus disclosed and claimed herein may be effectively employed wherever it is desired to discharge dry bulk commodities from containers, such as hoppers, bins, tanks and the like.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, various materials tend to adhere to or bridge across the sloping walls of the generally conical hopper compartments of railroad tank cars which are typically employed to transport such materials. Consequently, it is desirable to provide means for effecting fluidized discharge of such materials through the use of techniques which insure the breakup and cleanout of adhering masses of material. One effective method which employs such techniques is disclosed and claimed in U. S. Pat. No. 3,375,043, issued Mar. 26, 1968, and which is assignedto the assignee of the present invention. As disclosed therein, adhering masses of powdery material may be removed from compartment walls by providing a gas inlet in the compartment wall and covering the inlet with a spaced deflector plate. Gas striking the deflector plate is thus directed in a thin, high-velocity film or stream along the compartment wall so as to break up and dislodge adhering material Although most materials may be satisfactorily discharged by the use of such method, some materials such as short fibre asbestos, compact severely in the presence of vibration such as experienced in transit, and attempts to aerate by normal means results in ratholing and bridging with consequent failure to evacute the container. This is an old problem with such products. Other attempts to solve this problem have consisted of passing air through perforated pipes covered with canvas. Larger and larger numbers of pipes were used and even then only about 90 percent of product could be evacuated by a skilled operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of and means for effecting the discharge of commodities from tank cars.

Another object is to provide an improved method of and means for effecting the discharge of dry bulk commodities, such as asbestos fibre, which severely compact in the presence of vibration and which results in bridging or ratholing from attempts to aerate by normal means.

A still further object is to provide an improved method and means to effect the above mentioned objects that is simple, reltively low in cost, and does not require special operator skill.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of one preferred embodiment thereof, particularly when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein the FIGURE is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of a hopper-type railroad tank car embodying the features of the present invention.

To attain these and other objectives the present invention provides air whips which are essentially rubber hoses suspended over each hopper symmetrically about the transverse centerline and on the longitudinal centerline. The top ends of these hoses are fixed to air supply pipes and a structural support holds the top rigid while the bottom ends of the hoses are free to whip. Air is passed through the rubber hose to effect a mechanical whipping action which knocks compacted material down into the hopper bottom. Air expelling from the end of the hose also assists in knocking material down into the hopper bottom by jet action while at the same time maintains the air pressure necessary to unload the car. Two hoses are used since experience has shown that this is desirable if one hose becomes tangled.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to the FIGURE, there is shown a portion of a conventional hopper-type railroad tank car, generally denoted by the numeral 10. The tank car 10 is preferably constructed so that a plurality of generally conically shaped hopper compartments 20 defining material confining zones are provided along at least the lower half of the interior of the cylindrical tank 12. The hoppers 20 are defined by walls 22 and partitions 24 which are welded or otherwise suitably secured to the interior surface of the tank 12. Each of the material confining zones of hoppers 20 terminates, at its lowermost extremity, in a discharge port 26 which is connected to a discharge conduit 28 by a suitable connector 30.

Each of the hoppers 20 likewise includes a gas inlet 32 which communicates with gas lines (not shown). In communication with each gas inlet 32 in a standard aeration system 34 of the type illustrated in U. S. Pat. Nos. 3,375,043 issued Mar. 26, 1968 and 3,424,352 issued Jan. 28, 1969, which are both assigned to the assignee of the present invention. A control valve (not illustrated) is provided to open and close fluid communication with each aeration system 34. Such a system directs air across the conical hopper surfaces so as to increase discharge efficiency.

The present invention provides a longitudinally extending horizontal support member 36 attached to the upper ends of partitions 24 and positioned above discharge ports 26. As seen in the FIGURE, steel air pipes 38 extend vertically upward through the bottom of the tank 12 along partitions 24, then horizontally along support member 36 and finally vertically downward a short distance into compartments 20. Pipes 38 are suitably mounted to partitions 24 and support member 36 in a suitable manner as by brackets 40. Control valves 42 are connected to pipes 38 below the bottom of the tank so as to permit pipes 38 to be opened or closed to fluid communication with a pressurized air supply (not shown).

The other ends of air pipes 38 are connected in fluid communication with the top ends of rubber hoses 50, flexible over their entire length, in a suitable manner. Hoses 50 are of such a length as to extend into the material confining zones of the compartments below the surface of the compacted material and adjacent discharge port 26. As fluid pressure is supplied to the pipes 38, the fluid pressure passing through hoses 50 will effect universal movement in a whipping or snaking action of the hoses knocking any compacted material in its path into the bottom of the hopper. Two hoses are used since experience has shown that this is desirable if one hose becomes tangled.

In operation the car is first pressurized through aeration system 34 located in the bottom of each hopper. When a pressure of about 10 p.s.i. is reached, the discharge port 26 of the hopper to be unloaded is opened and as much product as possible is evacuated from the hopper bottom. Since many materials, such as asbestos fibre, inevitably rathole, such product will cease to flow after several minutes of evacuation leaving a centrally disposed rathole with the hose 50 positioned therein. The aeration system control valve is then turned off and one of the control valves 42 is turned on. Since the bulk of the material is still in the hopper, the flexible hose 50 begins to whip around within the ratholed material with a fairly restricted movement at first which gradually becomes more violent as the diameter of the rathole increases and the product evacuates. It is a combination of the mechanical whipping or snaking action of the hose 50 within the ratholed material and an air jet emitting from the bottom of the hose that causes the product to fall down into the bottom of the hopper which product then discharges through discharge port 26. The air emitting from the hose S maintains the pressure in the tank car at approximately p.s.i. which is necessary to transport the product through discharge port 26. The second hose 50 is only used if the first hose becomes tangled and cannot be heard moving around in the hopper.

From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that the present invention provides an improved method of and means for effecting the discharge of dry bulk commodities, such as asbestos fibre, which severely compact in the presence of vibration and which results in bridging or ratholing from attempts to aerate by normal means. Although an embodiment constructed in accordance with the present invention has been described with the requisite particularity the disclosure is of course only exemplary. Consequently, numerous changes in details of construction, in size configuration and arrangement of components and materials, and in modes of application will be apparent to those familiar with the art and may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A method for effecting the pressurized discharge and cleanout of material from hopper-type railroad cars including at least one hopper compartment having a material confining zone therein with a discharge port communicating with the lowermost extremity thereof, said compartment having pressurizing means associated therewith for accommodating the passage of pressurized gas into said material confining zone adjacent said discharge port; and a hose means, flexible over its entire length, vertically suspended into said material confining zone having a lower end positioned immediately above said discharge port and an upper end in fluid communication with pressurized gas supply pipes; said method comprising the steps of:

a. passing pressurized gas through said pressurizing means into said car until a predetermined pressure is reached;

b. opening said discharge port and unloading the material confined within the compartment while continuing to pass pressurized gas through said pressurizing means so as to maintain the pressure and cause ratholing of the confined material;

c. closing off the passage of pressurized gas through said pressurizing means; and

d. passing pressurized gas through said pressurized gas supply pipes and said hose means so as to simultaneously maintain said predetermined pressure in said car and cause universal movement of said hose means within said rathole with a shipping action to loosen the material compacted therearound, which permits the loosened material to pass through said discharge port.

vPo-mo UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 it (56)" CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,777,912 Dated December 11, 1973' Inventor(s) I Ronald G. Deeks It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In column 2, line l, the Word, "reltively" should be -v-relatively- 1 In column "2, line 4 the word "in" should be --is--.

In column 4', line 11, the word "claims" should be I -c'laim--. I

On the cover page, ,the assignee should be --Procor' Limited, Oakville, Ontario, Canada Signed and sealed this 7 th day of June 1971 (SEAL) Attest EDWARD, I*.FLETCHER,JR. C. MARSHALL DANN Attes ting Officer Commissionerof Patents 

1. A method for effecting the pressurized discharge and cleanout of material from hopper-type railroad cars including at least one hopper compartment having a material confining zone therein with a discharge port communicating with the lowermost extremity thereof, said compartment having pressurizing means associated therewith for accommodating the passage of pressurized gas into said material confining zone adjacent said discharge port; and a hose means, flexible over its entire length, vertically suspended into said material confining zone having a lower end positioned immediately above said discharge port and an upper end in fluid communication with pressurized gas supply pipes; said method comprising the steps of: a. passing pressurized gas through said pressurizing means into said car until a predetermined pressure is reached; b. opening said discharge port and unloading the material confined within the compartment while continuing to pass pressurized gas through said pressurizing means so as to maintain the pressure and cause ratholing of the confined material; c. closing off the passage of pressurized gas through said pressurizing means; and d. passing pressurized gas through said pressurized gas supply pipes and said hose means so as to simultaneously maintain said predetermined pressure in said car and cause universal movement of said hose means within said rathole with a shipping action to loosen the material compacted therearound, which permits the looseNed material to pass through said discharge port. 